Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument | |
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U.S. Department of Commerce |
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is a marine national monument of the United States off the coast of New England, on the seaward edge of Georges Bank. It was created by President Barack Obama on September 15, 2016, as the first U.S. marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean.[1][2]
The area includes four underwater mountains and three deep-sea canyons. It is home to endangered whales and other rare species, some found nowhere else in the world.[2][3]
Geography and geology
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is located within the New England and mid-Atlantic regions, 130 miles southeast of
Biology and ecology
The area is home to rare and
Creation
President Barack Obama designated the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument (NCSMNM) on September 21, 2016, by signing Proclamation 9496.[1] This action was based on the power to proclaim national monuments granted by the U.S. Congress under the Antiquities Act of 1906[7] to the president.[8] The Monument, which is located off the coast of New England, was the first fully protected marine reserve in the Atlantic Ocean.[9]
According to a White House press release, the Monument was created in response to half a century of calls to protect the area, due to its importance as a biodiversity hotspot, habitat for numerous rare and endangered species, and a valuable scientific and historical site.[1][10]
According to the Proclamation,[1] the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is the smallest area feasible to provide necessary management; designating a smaller zone would lead to an inaccurate interpretation and protection of biodiversity within the fragile area. The designation of the Marine National Monument occurred after numerous meetings and deliberations with stakeholders including conservationists, community members, fishermen, and local businesses; administrative officials gathered social, economic, and environmental data to inform the creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.[10]
Residing at depths of ~4,000 meters, deep sea corals and other foundational species are highly sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances such as bottom trawling and mining extractions.[1] The objective of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is to maintain biodiversity for research, while encouraging and providing support to fisheries to become more efficient, resilient, and sustainable.[11] Within three years, following the creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, NOAA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will administer a management plan for the area, adapting to requests and changes.[12] Under the monument's status, stakeholders would continue to be engaged throughout the process through meetings with administrators.[11]
The final designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument protects 40% of the originally proposed area, after intense deliberation, considering equity to those affected.[13] Areas within the Marine National Monument will remain open to recreational fishing and all military activity.[1] Subsequent to the creation of the Marine National Monument, a 60-day transition period was allowed for all commercial industries, besides the Atlantic Lobster and Deep-Sea Red Crab fisheries, which were permitted to continue fishing in the area for seven years after the creation of the monument.[1] In order to evolve fishing industries into sustainable businesses, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was tasked to provide commercial fisheries with access to updated vessels and equipment, increasing efficiency and minimizing cost, as well as beneficial services to commercial fisheries, such as stock assessments and marine surveys.[10]
The monument area is also withdrawn from leasing for energy development. Two months after the monument's creation, President Obama also withdraw 26 additional canyons along the Outer Continental Shelf to the northeast and southwest of the monument from future mineral leasing.[14]
Controversy over fishing restrictions
Five commercial fishing industries, Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association, Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Garden State Seafood Association, and Rhode Island Fishermen's Alliance, took the creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to court in early March 2017.[13] They stated that President Obama did not have the right to designate the Marine National Monument under the Antiquities Act.[13] In the case, Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association v. Wilbur Ross, the plaintiffs also argued that the 1906 Antiquities Act did not allow presidents to protect bodies of water, that the government lacked sufficient control of water many miles offshore, and that the nearly 5,000-square-mile monument was too large.[15] Furthermore, in a legal document published on March 29, 2017, the fishermen argued that the restrictions on commercial fishing at the Monument was unlawful and harmful to their businesses.[13]
The case,
In December 2018 the plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Court of Appeals decision on March 22, 2021.[21]
Monument modification
On June 5, 2020,
Environmental groups such as the
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order, "Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis."[28] The president directed the heads of all federal agencies to review every policy adopted during the Trump administration that affects public health, protection of the environment, conservation of national treasures and monuments, and the promotion of environmental justice and climate change resilience.[28] The Secretary of the Interior was directed to review the boundaries and conditions established for the Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts national monuments that had been modified by presidential proclamation in 2017 and 2020 and recommend presidential or other legal actions to restore the monument boundaries and conditions for access.[28]
On October 8, 2021, President Biden restored the original protections for the national monument, prohibiting commercial fishing and phasing out crab and lobster fishing by 2023.[29][30]
See also
References
- ^ Obama, Barack (September 21, 2016). "Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument". Federal Register. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ a b Donnelly, Kristin (September 15, 2016). "Obama to Create First Marine National Monument in the Atlantic". NBC News. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument (PDF). The Pew Charitable Trusts. 2016.
- ^ Clayton, Ciaran (September 15, 2016). "Secretaries Pritzker, Jewell Applaud President's Designation of Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument". United States Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- National Archives.
- ISSN 2296-7745.
- ^ "54 U.S. Code § 320301. National monuments". Cornell Law School. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via Legal Information Institute.
- Jarvis, Jonathan (June 10, 2015). "Enactment of Title 54, United States Code" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original(PDF) on February 25, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ a b c Fears, Darryl; Eilperin, Juliet (June 5, 2020). "Trump lifts limits on commercial fishing at ocean sanctuary off New England". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ National Archives.
- ^ a b "Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument FAQs". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ "Secretaries Pritzker, Jewell Applaud President's Designation of Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument". United States Department of the Interior. September 15, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant Intervenor Applicants' Motion to Intervene" (PDF). United States District Court for the District of Columbia. March 29, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2020 – via Earthjustice.
- ^ "Memorandum on Withdrawal of Certain Areas off the Atlantic Coast on the Outer Continental Shelf From Mineral Leasing" (PDF). December 20, 2016.
- ^ a b Green, Miranda; Cama, Timothy (October 5, 2018). "Judge upholds Obama's marine monument". The Hill. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ a b Iwata, Jackie (June 7, 2019). "Important Week for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts". Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ "STATE OF ALASKA, PLAINTIFF v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA". Cornell Law School. June 6, 2005. Archived from the original on May 7, 2006. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via Legal Information Institute.
- ^ Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association. "Notice of Appeal, Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association v. Ross, 349 F. Supp. 3d 48 (2018) (No. 1:17-cv-00406-JEB)" (PDF). Court Listener. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ United States Department of Justice (May 29, 2019). "Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia: RESPONSE BRIEF FOR THE FEDERAL APPELLEES" (PDF). Natural Resources Defense Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ "Court upholds creation of national monument in Atlantic". Associated Press. December 27, 2019. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ Massachusetts Lobstermen's Assoc., et al. v. Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, et al., No. 20-97, U.S. Supreme Court, __ S.Ct. __, 2021 WL 1072288 (2021)(denial of petition for certiorari).
- ^ National Archives.
- ^ a b Frazin, Rachel (June 6, 2020). "Trump to reopen Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument for fishing". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Trump Illegally Eliminates Protections for First and Only Monument in the Atlantic Ocean". Natural Resources Defense Council. June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ "SAVING SEAFOOD COALITION MEMBERS APPLAUD PROCLAMATION RESTORING COMMERCIAL FISHING TO NORTHEAST CANYONS AND SEAMOUNTS MONUMENT". Saving Seafood. June 5, 2020. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ Washington D.C. Archived from the originalon August 1, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ Whittle, Patrick; Knickmeyer, Ellen (June 5, 2020). "Trump allows commercial fishing in marine conservation area". Associated Press. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis". Federal Register. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "FACT SHEET: President Biden Restores Protections for Three National Monuments and Renews American Leadership to Steward Lands, Waters, and Cultural Resources". The White House. 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
- ^ "A Proclamation on Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument". The White House. 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
External links
- Official website – NOAA
- Official website – FWS
- WhiteHouse.gov.